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Thread: $10 .308 ammo

  1. #1
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    Default $10 .308 ammo

    Had a good day today. Temps were in the low 60s, clouds but no rain yet, got all the dirty work done yesterday to prepare for the next cold spell so I had a clear conscience for a range day.

    I had ordered several boxes of ammo from the ever helpful Sportsman's Guide and I must say if you ever have any cash you need to get rid of fast they can really help you with that!

    I had been very fortunate with the performance of Wolf and Silver Bear ammo in both .223 and 7.62x39 and I decided to give some of their .308 ammo a try, especially since they have reached the point that their loaded rounds are as cheap as I can reload in .308 caliber.

    I ordered some Silver Bear and Wolf in 140gn soft point. Cost was the same at about $0.51 cents per round. That is $10 and change per box of 20 and cheaper than Wallmart ammo.

    I also ordered some Fiocchi 150 grain FMJ at a slightly higher cost of $0.63 cents per round/$12 per box.

    I also had on hand some old reloads I built a couple of years back which were 150 grain soft point Hornady slugs over 4320 powder. At that time they were grouping into a 3/8" center to center group out of one rifle I own, about 1 1/2" out of another less precise rifle. Today they were being fired from a third rifle out of which they had never been used.

    Normally I would be confident in the performance of my reloads but this batch had been stored behind the seat in the Jeep for two years and exposed to cycles of -20 cold and 120 degree Kentucky hot along with the humidity we have around here. I was not even sure if they would fire!

    I was adjusting the scope on this rifle as I began the test, so I fired one round at 25 yards, adjusted the scope to zero and backed off to 100 yards.

    While adjusting the scope at 100 yards I fired 4 groups of 3 shots using the Silver Bear ammo. These 4 groups ranged from biggest group at 3.4" to a smallest group at 1.03". The small group size is slightly deceptive since it required me to measure at an angle. The group was actually only .79" tall and .69 wide, but the longest distance center to center was a hair over an inch.

    The groups did not get smaller as I shot. They were big/small/big/small so I must say the average of 4 groups was 2.2".

    As the afternoon grew long I decided to shoot one group with my hand-loads as a control. I hunkered down and fired three rounds and after touching off the first round I knew my reloads were hotter than the Silver Bear. They landed high and in a group that was vertically only 5/8" high but strung out in a vertical row that was slightly smaller than 2" wide.

    That indicates to me that this batch of Silver Bear is as good as my old crappy weather exposed reloads in this particular situation. If that is consistent then it does not pay for me to attempt to reload .308 in bulk any more than it does to reload .223 except for precision shooting.

    I also fired one group of Wolf into a strung out group 1/2" high but 3 inches wide with one shot touching the POA and the other two lying on each side. that means that no shot was more tan 1 1/2" from where it was aimed.

    These rounds were all soft point hunting ammo, and I consider the performance good enough to hunt with at "normal ranges" in my part of the country. According to this limited test none of the rounds would be out of the pie plate at 300 yards. They all performed as well as most scope sighted lever action rifles will do and better than the groups most people can shoot with open sights from most any rifle.

    All this at $10 per box.

    I also shot the FMJ Fiocchi and got a group strung vertically 1/2" wide and 3" tall. Just the opposite from the other selections. I suspect some velocity variations. The rest of this selection will be broken down and the cases/primers/slugs weighed and reloaded with some consistent charges. I can not use that FMJ to hunt with anyway.

    So I had a good day at the range. It did not rain on me and I did not freeze to the shooting bench. I needed a day out. Got to talk to a couple of shooters. Got to play with one guy's new Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 Creedmore, which was not shooting $1000 better than my rifle and steel case Russian ammo.

    That is one thing I have learned over the years. After you pass $500 for the rifle and $300 for the scope you are just bragging.

    That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?


  2. #2
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Sounds like a well needed reward day.....

    I am not surprised that the SG offerings seem to do pretty well...but good to hear that they are usable.

    I shoot mostly Fiocchi 7.62 in the 1895 7 shooter...as it's available.
    Seems hotter that some old Russian rounds.....
    SKS shoots the Wolf and Silver Bear. pretty well...
    Haven't re-loaded these.

    42 and raining...need to take down that Xmas lights....
    Maybe tomorrow ...
    Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
    Evoking the 50 year old rule...
    First 50 years...worried about the small stuff...second 50 years....Not so much
    Member Wahoo Killer knives club....#27

  3. #3
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    My real interest is discovering that this stuff is good enough to hunt with.

    I was also looking for some hunting legal ammo to keep for occasional use in a semi-auto .308. No need to waste time building precision reloads when they are getting beat up going from magazine to chamber. But I still wanted ammo good enough to know I am going to hit what I aim at.

    Today I dig through the gear and find all the .308 cases I have squirreled away. I will spend the next few snow filled days building some good ammo for the bolt action guns.
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

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